Syracuse University’s forensic science department is continuing its two-year expansion with the recent addition of a new, up-to-date lab suite. 

In about two years, the department has grown from two classes to 38 classes. There is currently a forensic science integrated learning major and a forensic science minor available for undergraduate students, as well as a few forensic science tracks for graduate students, according to the College of Arts and Sciences website. 

At the new forensic science lab, which was dedicated on Friday and officially opened for the Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute, there are separate rooms for extracting and amplifying DNA — each equipped with industry- standard technology.  Two scientists from the Syracuse Research Corporation transferred the equipment to the FNSSI.

The FNSSI involves curriculum, research and outreach, said Michael Sponsler, director of the forensic and national security sciences program. The new lab is mainly a research facility that will be used for undergraduate and graduate students’ independent, educational research, he said.

In both forensics programs, Sponsler said there has been a marked expansion — there are currently about 70 undergraduate students enrolled in the forensic science integrated learning major and about 30 graduate students. He said the program has also increased its interactions with federal and county external agencies to place students in research opportunities.

“We do anticipate new, additional courses and some new programs that will address our students’ specific needs,” Sponsler said.

Since its creation in 2011, the FNSSI has experienced rapid growth, said Dave Knaebel, a professor of practice. It was created to cater to undergraduate and graduate students who expressed interest in doing forensic science research.

Undergraduate students must also major in another science, such as biology or chemistry, Knaebel said.  Graduate students will be able to conduct their own research project. Undergraduate students will also have limited access to the labs, he said.

The next generation sequencing platform, Knaebel said, can sequence an amount of DNA that would usually take 120 years in as little as eight hours.

He added that there is a “high value” on students getting involved in research as the experience can contribute and improve their learning process. 

Mike Marciano, a research scientist at FNSSI, said the dual focus of the lab is what sets it apart.

The program focuses on a combination of forensic and national security sciences, which Marciano said he believes offer a wide variety of opportunities for students.  

Stephanie Gladyck, a first year graduate student in the Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute at SU, said the institute’s new additions in Lyman Hall helps her gain access to more advanced equipment for research.

“They have a fully stocked lab where you can take a DNA sample, extract it, quantify it, amplify it, and then sequence it all in the same place,” Gladyck said.

During her undergraduate career, she began researching mitochondrial DNA samples from bones buried at a church in the 1800s.  The process, she said, was tedious because she didn’t have access to the most advanced equipment at her small Catholic university in Michigan.

At the dedication this week, James Spencer, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and executive director of the program, highlighted the dual focus of the FNSSI.

“Forensics looks backward to what has happened.  National Security looks forward at what might happen. They intersect at the present,” Spencer said.

George Langford, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said at the dedication that he hopes the opening of the new lab is a “new chapter in the life of the building and of the college.”

Published on November 13, 2013 at 12:55 am

Contact: clmoran@syr.edu